This explanation would be much better :)

Rishi

I just did the Demo Test, everything worked fine.
I would prefer to see in advance if the next puzzle will be a 45 second or a 60 second puzzle. Together with the rules and the example on the left there could be a line telling: 45/60 seconds or 45/60 points.

And then I would rephrase the Kakuro rules into something like: "The following Kakuro may have several solutions but it can be solved in a way that one digit will not be used. What is the unused digit?". The reason for my proposal is that the given Kakuro in the Demo is NOT a standard kakuro since it has multiple solutions!

Great idea, I am looking forward to the test!
Stefan

Interesting concept.

One note: it might be nice to have a letter representing each color shown in the bottom corner of cells in Brilliant Colour so that Colour-blind users can still have a fair chance to compete. I'm not sure if any other puzzles in the test use colour, but it is one consideration you may want to make.

All 45 seconds puzzles will appear first. Then all 60 seconds puzzles.
Exactly which puzzle will appear after which puzzle is specified in the guide (last page)

I realize that "The puzzles will appear in the order in which they appear" should be phrased correctly to reflect that.

We'll decide if we have to change the Demo puzzle or the Instructions.
An update on this is due.
But I assume the puzzle is primarily clear to everyone.

Thanks for bringing it up. We'll modify Brilliant Colour image.

I also should mention that the order of the 25 puzzles is exactly same as the order of examples that you see now.

Just needed a clarity on the rules for the ESB. Does it mean that there are multiple solutions to the image and we need to answer how many solutions are there?? Or am I missing something??

Rishi

That is not the question. There is exactly one solution to this puzzle.

In a valid ESB loop, every alternate turn is marked by a circle. In this puzzle, you have to draw few loops so that each loop satisfies ESB rule.
The question is "Exactly how many loops must be drawn."

Note that it is NOT being asked what is the minimum or what is the maximum number of loops that could be drawn.
Exactly n loops can be drawn so that each of the n loops satisfy ESB rule. You have to find out n.

One more example to help you understand


Click 'Show' to see answer

Thanks for the example... now I understood :)

Rishi

Hi,

Could you give a brief description of what the demo is and how it works... This will help all participants understand it better. Since this is a first time for a screen test, I assume most of us would not be familiar with the usage... Though the demo gives a nice feel of the test, but would appreciate a description for the benefit of all....

Rishi

Since this is the first time we are having a Screen Test, we decided to have a Demo page.
The Demo page works exactly like the actual puzzle test page.
You can login, start the test, puzzles will appear and you can answer.
The most critical part of the Demo page is you can see the 90-seconds review period in action. [ so you can plan how to best use the 90-seconds during the actual test ]
Of course, the demo page has only 5 puzzles and the actual test will have 25 puzzles.

So it will be good for everyone to login and start the test in Demo page. Note that we'll disable to Demo page 24 hours before ST#1 starts.

Irrespective of whether one takes the Demo or not, everyone should check the 25 puzzle types, instructions, examples.
There won't be much time during the test to understand the rules.

Hope that clarifies.

the demo puzzle and example has been changed.
It is now a regular kakuro (with unique solution).

So am I right in seeing that you are penalized for wrong answers, but you have to submit an answer to the puzzle to get to the next one? And the IB says something about being able to go back to puzzles you skipped in the review period... I guess by skipped it means 'intentionally guessed'?

1. You get penalized for wrong answers, but obviously no negative points for not answering a question.
2. After the timer is over, you will automatically be shown the next puzzle (irrespective of whether you have answered the previous one or not)

So, that means, you can't skip a puzzle - you have to wait till 45 (or 60) seconds are over to go to the next puzzle.
So if you decide to skip a puzzle (for whatever reasons), don't select any answer, rather wait for the timer to be over.

Yikes, that's pretty scary... But now that I think about it I guess there isn't a time advantage to skipping a puzzle early, since every puzzle has a set time. I guess if you encounter a puzzle you're sure you won't answer, it's a good chance to catch a breath!!

I rushed and did the Demo before reading the IB... because I was overly excited/intrigued... On the review page, is it possible to change an answer to 'no answer' ?

(And by scary I mean in an intense and exciting awesome way )

I agree with you. If I'm not comfortable with a puzzle type and decide to skip it, I would catch some breath while the timer runs out till next puzzle.
In the review page, you CAN change the answer to 'no answer'.

If we skip any puzzzle do we come back to it again if time is left..............I Mean if am able to do 10 out of 25 and miss 15 in between and have say 5 mins left.... will I be able to have a try on the missed ones...........
another point ....Can we have a skip button?? to save time and come back to the puzzle at a later time.............

Another point... Can we have a bigger digital timer.....just below the puzzle (instead of Right hand corner)

It is not possible to come back to a puzzle like you mention.
Each puzzle has a 'fixed time', and it should be solved within that fixed time.

You can view / switch back-and-forth among any puzzle during the 90-seconds review period. But that time is fixed for everyone - whether you have solved 5 puzzles or 20 puzzles.

A bigger digital timer or a different color progress bar is something we could do easily.
But trust me that it is very disturbing and intrusive.

Irrespective of the size of timer, the number of seconds you have is not going to change.
You should rather never look at the timer, and just try to solve a puzzle in as few seconds as possible.

We also changed the Middle Stick colors.
Here is the updated example

Can anyone explain me the puzzle Lucky Column, if possible with an example..